BRANCH COUNTY, MI (WTVB) – Both the Coldwater and Bronson City Councils passed resolutions on Monday night which ask the Branch County Board of Commissioners to delay formal action on a proposed 911 Central Dispatch draft service plan following next Tuesday’s public hearing which will take place during the Commissioners final regular meeting of the year.
Village Councils in Union City and Quincy are also expected to consider similar resolutions this week.
Coldwater City Manager Keith Baker serves not only as the city’s representative on the 911 Advisory Board but he also chairs the Board as well.
He said in his memo to the City Council for Monday’s meeting that the draft service plan has been prepared without any input from other stakeholders of the 911 Central Dispatch system. The resolution also asked Commissioners to engage the County’s various municipal and public agencies in developing a new service plan.
Baker went on to say, “The plan was drafted by County administration and vests all authority and decision making with the County and relegates all of the other municipalities, law enforcement agencies, fire services, townships and public to strictly an advisory role even though all of these stakeholders are recipients of the 911 center’s services and relies on them on a daily basis.”
Bronson City Manager Brandon Mersman said in his report for the Bronson City Council meeting on Monday that as currently written, he felt the plan would not be in anyone’s best interests.
The Branch County Board of Commissioners approved the hiring of IXP Corporation of Seattle in September to study and evaluate the E-911 Center and its policies. One recommendation from the consultant was the updating of the service plan by County stakeholders so it’s more clearly defined.
Kevin Kearns from IXP spent two weeks in Branch County and at times his assessments were blunt when he reported back to County Commissioners in October. He said there was a lot of tension in the current model and service plan. He also found out in his interviews that the tensions have been going on for a considerable amount of time.
Comments